Zechariah 12:3 “And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.”
Editor's Note: Jim Bakker teaches to watch Israel closely because it is the prophetic timeclock for the unfolding of Last Days events. In Matthew 24, Israel is the fig tree that the Lord told His people to observe to understand the times. It is like a barometer of what is happening in the nations.
The right of U.S. citizens born in Jerusalem to list “Israel” as their country of birth on passports has been changed by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The court ruled on a 6-3 decision that Congress violated the Constitution when it passed a 2002 law telling the State Department any American born in Jerusalem could list Israel as their birthplace.
The new policy has been implemented in an attempt to stay neutral over any nation’s sovereignty over Jerusalem while Palestinians and Israelis negotiate its status.
Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the majority that the President has the right to recognize foreign nations and that the ability is his alone; meaning the Congress cannot assign nationality to any foreign land.
“Recognition is a matter on which the nation must speak with one voice. That voice is the president’s,” Kennedy wrote.
US Policy has held that Jerusalem’s city status should be resolved through negotiations between the parties. Congress has for years pushed administrations of both parties to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
In his dissent, Justice Antonin Scalia wrote the Constitution “divides responsibility for foreign affairs between Congress and the president.” He was joined in dissent by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito.
The ruling ends a 12 year old lawsuit brought by a Jerusalem-born American.
